SIAM reclassifies segments for reporting sales data
Thursday, 05 May 2011
05 May 2011;business-standard.com:New Delhi: The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has come up with a revised format in accordance with which sales data of automobile manufacturers will be reported from this month. Senior director Sugato Sen said, “The existing format was put in place in 2002. Since then, the automobile industry has undergone a major transformation. There are more cars available on Wednesday, due to which we felt the need to increase segmentation and provide more detailed data.” The passenger vehicle (PV) segment would now have nine categories with cars being reclassified according to their length, price and engine capacity. Earlier, the segment had models classified under six sub-segments. The new category — the micro — sub-segment has Tata Nano as the sole contender. The two additional sub-segments are the super compact category which would include cars with length between 4,000 mm and 4,250 mm and the coupe, which would cover 2-4 door roadsters with firm or retractable roofs. Utility vehicles (UVs), which were earlier classified into two sub-segments on the basis of the number of seats and mass, have now been re-grouped into five sub-segments depending on the length and price. The first three segments — UV1, UV2 and UV3 — would have products priced up to Rs 15 lakh. While the UV4 sub-segment would group products tagged between Rs 15 and Rs 25 lakh, UV5 would report sales of products priced above Rs 25 lakh. Multi-purpose vehicles would now be classified into two groups — V1 vans with hard tops used for personal transport and V2, which would include vans with soft tops used as maxi cabs. The medium and heavy commercial vehicles would continue to have three and five sub-segments for carriers used for passenger transportation and goods transportation purposes, respectively. No changes have been made in the manner in which sales data for two-wheelers and three-wheelers is reported. Sen said passenger vehicles such as the Tata Winger, which were earlier categorised in the PV segment, would now be considered in the light commercial vehicle (LCV, passenger) one. “This would be the re-arrangement as far as volumes are concerned. We would be re-adjusting the data for last year to make figures comparable.” LCV used for passenger transportation would have two sub-segments while those used for carrying goods would have four sub-segments. Sen said the industry body has held discussions with members and they would release model-wise sales numbers, possibly from this month onwards. The data would be disclosed a week after the monthly report is released by SIAM.
Govt mulling Rs 3/litre diesel rate hike after assembly polls
Wednesday, 04 May 2011
04 May 2011;timesofindia.indiatimes.com:NEW DELHI: The government plans to hike diesel prices by up to Rs 3 a litre soon after the assembly elections in five states are over next week, while an equivalent steep increase in petrol rates is also on card. "An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to meet on May 11 to mull on a hike in diesel prices," a top government official, refusing to be named, told reporters. A Rs 3-4 a litre hike in the price of petrol, which had been freed from government control last June, is also on the cards immediately after polling in the last phase of assembly elections is completed on May 10. "Petroleum Ministry officials yesterday discussed with the Election Commission the issue of raising prices before Assembly election results are announced on May 13. The Election Commission is believed to have cleared the move," he said. Officially on the EGoM's agenda is ways of mitigating the over Rs 180,000 crore revenue loss state-owned oil firms have projected in 2011-12 on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at current rates. An increase in domestic LPG prices may also be discussed at the EGoM meeting that will decide on how the oil firms will be compensated for their losses, he said. State-owned Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum currently lose Rs 16.17 a litre on diesel and after adding local sales tax or VAT, the desired increase to make rates at par with international prices is Rs 18.19 a litre. The companies have not even raised price of petrol, a commodity which was freed from government control in June last year, in view of Assembly elections in five states like West Bengal and Kerala. The hike need to take petrol prices to international parity is about Rs 8.50 per litre, but the entire burden will not be passed on to consumers in one go. "Oil companies will be asked to stagger the hike over a couple of months," the official said. Besides petrol and diesel, the three state oil firms lose Rs 29.69 a litre on kerosene and Rs 329.73 per 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder.
BMW profit seen tripling on Chinese love of luxury
Tuesday, 03 May 2011
04 May 2011;business-standard.com:Frankfurt: BMW is expected to post strong first-quarter results, echoing rivals Volkswagen and Daimler, on Chinese demand for luxury cars and recovering markets in Germany and the United States. BMW, which also owns the Rolls-Royce and Mini brands, is expected to say on Wednesday that its core earnings more than tripled to about 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in the three months through March. Global luxury car makers, from Volkswagen's Audi to Daimler's Mercedes-Benz, have racked up eye-popping sales in China, where a growing army of super-rich is fuelling demand for premium items such as Gucci handbags and Rolls-Royce cars. But China's car market -- the world's biggest ahead of the United States -- is expected to cool this year amid rising fuel prices and tighter rules on registration after surging by a third to a record high in 2010. The US market, for its part, is lending extra support to the industry with US vehicle sales up nearly 18% in April and up nearly 20% in the first four months of the year. Shares in European automobile stocks lagged the wider market on Tuesday with analysts citing a recent slowdown in Chinese manufacturing growth. "Autos are very China-exposed and are therefore disproportionally affected by any negative news there," Credit Suisse analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said, referring to a surprise contraction in Chinese PMI data on Sunday. Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, and Daimler last week both reported robust quarterly earnings, with emerging markets fuelling sales growth. BMW has said it sees the Chinese market for premium cars and its own sales there rising by at least 10% this year. The company with its Chinese joint venture partner Brilliance <1114.HK> make cars at a plant in Shenyang, including an extended wheelbase version of the 5-Series sedan developed especially for the local market. When BMW reports financial results on Wednesday, investors will also be looking for any comments on 2011 earnings that are more specific than the guidance the company gave in March. At the time, it said it saw 2011 pretax profit above the 2010 level, with an operating margin in its automobiles business of more than 8%. That outlook is seen as somewhat conservative. A Reuters poll shows that analysts on average see BMW's pretax profit up 21% this year, with an operating margin in the automobiles business of about 9%.
04 May 2011;dailypioneer.com:Rakesh Bihari Jha:New Delhi: Wary of its limitations vis-a-vis its arch rival BMW as the company doesn’t have enough locally assembled products in India, Mercedes Benz on Tuesday said it would bring its A and B Class cars into India in the next 3-4 years and assemble them locally to make the vehicles price competitive and regain its No 1 position. “We do not have enough locally assembled products in India. My current portfolio does not allow me to compete with my competitors at this time,” said Mercedes Benz India Managing Director and CEO Peter Honegg after launching two of its premium products SL 350 and GL 500 in India, priced at Rs 98.5 lakh and RS 80.9 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) respectively. “The company currently does not offer any product in a price range where models such as BMW’s X1 exist,” he added. BMW assembles its SUV X1 at its Chennai plant and sells with a starting price of Rs 22.40 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
04 May 2011;dailypioneer.com:Samar Jeet:New Delhi: Spiralling inflation in the past year saw the monthly household budget swell. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest move — to hike repo rate (rate at which RBI lends to banks) by 50 bps — may not help your cause any further. You may have to cough up more for EMIs on home and auto loans. SBI and ICICI Bank have indicated that an immediate hike in lending rate by up to 50 bps is imminent. SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said a hike of “25 to 50 basis points” in the next three months on the lending side is “a reasonable guess” and the rise in interest rates for the bank “will get passed on” (to customers). ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar voiced a similar sentiment. “Most banks would maintain margins...A large part of this increase will have to be passed on in the form of an increase in lending rates,” she said.
New norms for fuel efficiency of vehicles by May end
Monday, 02 May 2011
03 May 2011;economictimes.indiatimes.com:Chanchal Pal Chauhan:NEW DELHI: The government will come out with new norms to determine the fuel efficiency of vehicles by the end of this month, seeking to encourage the use of eco-friendly vehicles to combat pollution. The new fuel efficiency standards will be mandatory for all companies from 2015. The fuel efficiency rate for a company will be calculated by dividing the sum total of fuel efficiency rates of all its models with the total number of vehicles sold. "We are working on the fuel efficiency standards that will be represented in kilometers/litre of fuel. The vehicles would be classified on their weight to classify them under different levels of fuel efficiency," said Ajay Mathur, director general, bureau of energy efficiency. Government also plans to give star ratings for average fuel efficiency for all vehicles. These star ratings would start with passenger cars and move on to other vehicles such as scooters, buses, and truck. "The star-system is currently under discussion," added Mr Mathur. The new guidelines are based on 'Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency' (CAFE) norms prevalent in the US since 1970's. Big carmakers such as BMW, Porsche, Audi, Lotus and Volkswagen have paid penalties in the US for failing to meet the local fuel standards. Car companies will submit reports of fuel efficiency on their models to government based on their weight and classification. Government will arrive at the average fuel economy. The Indian automobile industry already discloses the fuel efficiency of each car voluntary. "We are already disclosing all the details and would be working with the government to develop any rationale norms," Vishnu Mathur, director general, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers The norms will raise prospects of small vehicles which are light and are easier to confirm to these new standards, according to senior industry officials.
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